AN EPISODE OF MATERIAL CULTURE: THE INAUGURATION OF 54 SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES (1884-1886)

ABSTRACT This article presents a central episode in the history of the expansion and redefinition of Buenos Aires school spaces: the simultaneous inauguration of 54 school buildings in 1886. The opening acts of the buildings represent a moment of strong symbolic condensation. These events allow us to see how, through words and actions, the spaces are symbolically invested, assigned functions and their objectives are defined. At the same time, it is a useful form of approximation to identify who participated, from where they did it and what relationships they maintained among themselves.